


Strike Team Nine

by inadistantworld



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Apex - Freeform, I don't really know what to tag this as so I guess I'll do that later, I mean Ryder has a cool story and all but what about everyone else in andromeda?, M/M, Strike Team, also i need more gay human/turian things in my life, which is my excuse for doing a bunch of ocs instead of Ryder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-12 19:21:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10497825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inadistantworld/pseuds/inadistantworld
Summary: Every story has its Ryder but every story has an Alex too.Alex was on the Nexus since the beginning and Andromeda has not been what was promised, but he also didn't travel 600 years, lose all of his friends and family, and come to a new galaxy just to throw it all away when the shit hits the fan. Alex is an expert at cleaning shit off of fans (and walls and ceilings and everywhere else it gets. He's also an expert at flinging shit at the fan, all in all he's pretty talented), which is why he was assigned to APEX. Though now, after the mutiny and general loss of enthusiasm the rest of the ones assigned aren't ex N7 recruits like he was, they're bottom of the barrel picks in a desperate time.Even so, they become the best Strike Team there is (and not just cause there are only three left). They also become source material for the joke "What do you get when a human, asari, krogan, and turian walk into a kett base?" "Probably really fucked up." (The Nexus hasn't had time for humor lately)Alex Fletcher, Strike Team Nine's leader, just about does it all, including wistfully staring at his turian companion instead of watching an asari destroy a krogan in a wrestling match.





	1. Alex from APEX

Assholes

Partying

Even In

XAndromeda

 

That’s what the sign Alex was taping to the wall said.

He stepped back, hands on his hips as he admired his work.

“Alex, I’m pretty sure that’s not how humans spell Andromeda,” Valara said.

“Sure it is, it’s a silent X,” Alex lifted his chin, bright green eyes flashing in pride. APEX, no, Andromeda itself, took everything, more so than any program in the Milky Way, but it wouldn’t take the military’s ability to turn everything into an acronym that showed how shitty things were. It was a comfort he’d had in the Alliance and just because he was in Andromeda didn’t mean he was going to give it up.

Dark blue lips pursed into a thin line, Valara opened her mouth to say something, asari always had something annoying to say, but Makar, a burly krogan, young (as far as krogan go), full of fire which Alex liked, laughed deep in his throat, “I like it.”

“You would,” Valara snipped but dropped it. “We’re still one short.”

Alex looked over his shoulder to the door, “Maybe he ditched too. Everyone’s leaving, arks have gone missing, we’re running out of food, and now the settlements we had on our glorious golden world had to high tail it out of there? What ones made it out alive at least. I’d leave.”

“You still could,” Valara’s voice was deceivingly light but her eyes were focused on Alex, watching, she wouldn’t stop him but she needed to know he was committed. No room for weakness on this team.

“Nah, got a friend in cryo still. If any assholes get to the Nexus who’s gonna save his sorry ass? I gotta be here. Besides I’m already making stationary that says Alex from APEX on it, if I leave now it’ll be a complete waste.” Alex’s eyes meet hers, all jokes aside he’s dedicated, he knows the cost of leaving is even worse than losing, and that’s unthinkable.

“We don’t need him, you’ve got me,” Makar is doing _that krogan thing_ , the bouncing up and down, hammering his fists together, hyping himself up.

“Give him a few minutes and then we’ll leave,” Alex turned to look around the rest of the shuttle. It was just small enough to be uncomfortable for long flights, but it had four cots, a microwave, radio, and a bathroom. He’d spent longer in worse conditions. “You ever heard of this guy?”

“Some turian bastard, nothing special I bet,” Makar huffed. He wondered if it was even worth having a turian and krogan on the same team.

“They sent you his file when he was assigned to the team, didn’t you look?” Asari always seemed so smug.

“I read yours, figured it’d be enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“Valara T’vatora, you’re a hacker, they call you a tech expert or something but I know the short hand. I figured you could get more information on the rest than I could.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and turns back to Valara. Light blue skin, textured with bumps all over that reminded him of scales in a way. Her official file said she spent time with commandos, and it showed, but every asari he’d met had also been a complete badass and he had no doubt she’d be a valuable part of the team.

“Well you’re file was right,” she muttered, Alex didn’t inquire, “This guy is a turian. His official file was pretty bare but with so few people left I wasn’t surprised, APEX should have been elite, N7 guys, even recruits like you, and commandos and shit, but now we’re scraping the barrel. But I dug a little farther, he’s got almost no past, I’m not even sure how he got into the program with nothing there. It’s gotta be fake or he really is the most boring turian alive from the smallest town on Palaven where nothing happened to set him apart from the rest.”

“I’ll save you the trouble of wondering, it’s all faked.”

Alex ignored the urge to shiver, turians had _that voice_ and he’d always had a special…interest in the rough, gravelly sound. He cleared his throat and looked to the door, a turian was leaning against the doorway. Alex would say he was smiling but you couldn’t tell, plates didn’t move like that, there was humor in his voice and his arms were crossed over his chest. He was already suited up which was more than Alex could say.

“Sorry I’m late, I didn’t have much warning and I wanted to do some research on the rest of you,” bright blue eyes focused on Alex, scanned him up and down and the turian cocked his head to the side, “Alex Fletcher I take it?”

“Alex from APEX is fine,” he breathed. The turian—what was his name?—seemed to smile a little more (even if it wasn’t possible) and stepped into the pod, a couple long strides closed the gap between the two and he looked down at the human.

“Kaetus Ignaion,” his mandibles fluttered and Alex’s breath quickened, “at your service Squad Leader.”

 

And that was how Strike Team Nine met.

What they did after that was highly classified for the most part, but things have their way of getting around with a community as small as the one on the Nexus.

 

“That’s gotta be them, they’ve all got it on their armor,” a woman whispered as they passed by to report to Kandros.                                              

“What do you think they just came back from?”

“I don’t know, but Nine does the hardest missions, the ones that sometimes I think are better if we never find out.”

They were right about that, Alex thought as he cracked his neck.

“I told you it was a bad idea to put it somewhere so visible,” Valara said as they walked by.

“Admit it, you love the recognition. It’s more than we get from command. Besides, it wouldn’t have been visible at all if some of us weren’t made of metal plates instead of something soft and squishy and easy to tattoo,” Alex said, turning to look at Kaetus.

“Well at least I’m not so easily hurt, I swear every time you stand up you walk away with another injury. Humans are so fragile it’s a wonder you made it as far as you did.”

Makar laughed heartily, that distinguishable krogan laugh. It had sounded through the comms during missions so many times now that it was in Alex’s dreams. It was not the only thing that had, a certain turian— “He’s got a point, Alex, you have nothing protective, I am surprised you have not died yet, you truly are an amusement!”

“Valara isn’t much sturdier than I am!”

“She trained with _commandos_ , Alex, I wouldn’t be surprised if she outlived us all,” Kaetus said, the smile coming through his voice. Always smiling. Making jokes on the field, total confidence in every shot, even when Alex was downed and in need of medical help, he’d rush over, meet his eyes, and make another joke about the fragility of humans. When they were being overwhelmed by the enemy Alex could count on Kaetus for moral support as well as a nice burst of flames to help Alex push through with his biotics.

“Well all I’m saying is that if you weren’t all hard and—” oh god did he just say that out loud? “—difficult then we could have gotten discreet tattoos instead of having this decal added to our armor that everyone would recognize.”

Small blue eyes shifted to look at Alex, a bright light behind them and his mandibles opened and closed slowly, teasingly Alex called it, “Not a fan of how hard I am, Alex?”

“I—Wh—Look I—That’s not—”

“Alex, close your mouth and act professional, you have to give our report.”

Alex cleared his throat, looked back ahead of him, and turned into the small room that served as the APEX operations room.

“Welcome back, I trust everything went well?”

“Enemy forces pushed back and we recovered the data.”

“Anything about the missing arks?”

“No sir,” Alex looked away. It’d been, what, a year? Every day they seemed more and more like a pipe dream.

Turians were harder to read but there was no mistaking the disappointment and pain in his face. “I understand. We’ll find them though. The important part is that the kett haven’t, at least that we know of. You have two days leave and then I need you back in the field, those scientists think they’ve got some kind of virus they want you to put into some kett systems, they have no idea if it’ll work but it’s worth a shot.”

“We don’t have to take the time off, sir. If you need us out there now—”

“You’re our most dedicated team, but we don’t even have to virus finished yet. Stay here, take a couple days off with your team, and we’ll have you back out there in no time.”

“Thank you sir.”

Silence hung thick in the air before he said, “I’m sorry, I still can’t take your friends and family out. We can’t afford to right now, we can barely take care of the people we have.”

“We know, sir,” Valara said, “you’re doing your best. You keep doing yours and we’ll do ours.”

“I’ll keep you updated. Dismissed.”

The Nexus was doing what it could to keep morale up but that didn’t amount to much. A secret bar somewhere, too small to even consider. It had officially been open at the beginning, Vortex, it had been a big deal, and then Addison shut it down. Took too many resources without giving anything back. Hell, half the time people were working in the dark. No power, no food, no water. They were running on empty and it showed. So having a few days off was almost more depressing than being shot at.

There were only three strike teams left, Two, Seven, and Nine, the others had been put to the side for the same reasons as Vortex. Alex would have thought that the worse the situation got the more work would be done, instead it was the opposite. Every few weeks an announcement would sound saying one of the arks was docking. At first they had left the glitch out of hope it was true, now it was just because nobody cared enough to turn it off. Same thing with a lot of technology issues, it’s why Valara had been assigned to APEX, it hadn’t been what she was supposed to be doing but at the time it’s what they needed more than fixing a water fountain somewhere.

As they walked through the Nexus on their way to their apartment (while there was plenty of room to spread out and have their own, hell they would have broken down some walls and had super apartments all to themselves, they had found they enjoyed living close to each other. Though Makar still broke down a wall, but that was less about making the apartment bigger and more about who would win in a wrestling match, Valara or him. It was not Makar) they saw a lot of familiar faces just sitting around. There were only a handful of people working, Addison rotated people out for work, somebody did need to keep a few lights on. Also after the whole “gravity incident” a few more had been put on staff, just in case.

The weekend (could you call it a weekend if you had no idea what day it was? Who kept track anymore?) went by quickly, mostly by playing cards and breaking into the small cache of alcohol they had.

Kaetus had suggested strip poker but Valara and Alex (only because of Valara asked him to back her up) said it seemed a little unfair due to Kaetus being a turian and looking basically the same inside and outside of his clothes. Alex did very willingly help shield Valara’s eyes from Makar who had decided to take his pants off during the conversation due to the misunderstanding of strip poker.

Alex thought never seeing a krogan’s quad again would be too soon.

And then they were shipping out again.

“The Hyperion is docking, please prepare for the human ark to board,” The pleasant, prerecorded voice sounded over the PA.

“Must be a Tuesday,” Makar grunted as he stepped into the shuttle.

“I swear it’s only getting worse, it used to happen like once a month and I’m pretty sure it said the Hyperion when we were here last week,” Alex made his way to the shuttle controls, sat down, and started going through its ‘vitals’ so to speak, the last thing he wanted was to fall out of the sky (again).

“Someone should get to work on that,” Valara said without looking up from her omni tool. Alex wondered if it was information on the mission or on some poor sucker who screwed her over.

“Sounds like your department Valara, or are you too busy erasing that poor man’s kiwi allergy from his rations information?” Kaetus joked.

“It’s not a serious allergy, he’s not going to die or anything, it’s just minor hives and he should have thought about that before he started shit talking about Makar and the other krogan. He’s lucky it wasn’t Kesh who overheard him, she might have spaced him. I looked at his profile, it’s not like he’s useful or anything.”

Well that answered that. Though at least it was a good reason, even if it wasn’t exactly the best way to handle it.

“All right kiddies, we’re taking off, so buckle up or don’t bitch about falling over.” Alex flipped a few more switches and grabbed the controls.

“Well maybe if you took some flying lessons you wouldn’t be so shitty at it.”

“You’ll be in a better mood once you see that guy has a bunch of red splotches and can’t stop itching,” Alex said as he pulled out into space.

“Even so, she’s not wrong,” Kaetus said as he took the seat beside Alex, “you’re in desperate need of a capable copilot to handle your ship.”

Alex chuckled, “You have no idea.”

“After seeing your omni tool viewing history and then showing it to the rest of them, I assure you we have a very good idea,” Valara said from the back.

Alex’s face burned with embarrassment and he was quite glad that after meeting Kaetus and deciding that pursing him was _not_ worth the crippling agony and awkward team dynamic of the inevitable breakup, he had deleted his turian/human related vids.

Despite the excellence of Strike Team Nine, they did not notice a new addition to the Nexus, though in their defense it was on the other side of the Nexus, but then again it is basically hollow and missing a lot of pieces making the ark relatively easy to spot. As long as you aren’t laughing at Alex or trying to remember if you watched anything to incriminating that your friends may have seen.

Understandable or not, the team flew away without even considering that an ark may have found its way to the Nexus and a Pathfinder boarded, unable to even guess just how bad the situation was.


	2. Good Things and Bad Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hearing nothing from command, the team fears the worst as they return to the Nexus. What they find is more shocking than they imagined.  
> Kaetus wants to play poker, Makar gets naked, Valara scares me a little bit, and Alex feels guilty for a myriad of reasons.

It wasn’t strange to hear so little from command during a mission, they liked to stay away sometimes. Other times they liked to micromanage, “Get ready, more coming in,” “Make sure you regroup and reload,” “Kill all the bad guys,” “Did you wipe your ass?” but every now and then they’d back off, let the team do their thing. It was a nice change of pace.

Not hearing anything from them on the flight home, that was strange.

“You don’t think—”

“Come on, Valara, you know I don’t think,” Alex joked but his voice was tight because yeah, he was thinking about if the kett found the Nexus and were currently sweeping through the halls, probably—

“And here I thought Kandros never slept, probably just passed out over the table right now. I don’t think he’s closed his eyes since he woke up, I kept trying to tell him just because he slept for 600 years doesn’t mean he can stay awake for another 600. Bastard didn’t want to listen and now he’s probably screwing up the holographic settings on the ops table or something,” Kaetus said, but even he didn’t sound the same.

Even Makar was oddly quiet though Alex noticed him turning his gun over in his hands, studying it intently. There was more than one way to hype yourself up for a fight, Alex preferred the shit talking over this heavy silence.

He flew faster, the sooner they got there the sooner they’d know what was going on.

 

“What the fuck?” Valara whispered as they stepped off the shuttle.

“Think we flew back in time?” Alex was stunned, he was looking up, counting how many lights were on (every single one, he wasn’t even sure they could still do that), there were people working on panels and doors were opened that hadn’t been opened since the first month or two.

“With your shitty flying I guess anything is possible,” Makar grunted but held his gun tightly even now.

“Welcome back Nine,” Kandros’s signature voice came from their left, “I thought this would be best done in person.”

“We were just on our way to see you, sir. We had feared something went wrong when we didn’t hear anything on the way back—”

Valara interrupted Alex to mumble, “I still think something did,” but Alex pressed on.

“The virus didn’t take, they—”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Sir?”

“An Ark arrived.”

There was silence for a beat and then, “You’re shitting me,” Makar said, dropping his hands and his assault rifle almost slipping out.

The other three were silent. An Ark. A real Ark came.

Nobody wanted to ask if it was theirs but they were all hoping. He said ‘an Ark’, just one and hoping it was theirs out loud was like saying ‘I hope it’s mine not yours’ and they couldn’t do that too each other. Luckily, they didn’t have to.

“Hyperion.” Valara and Kaetus looked away, Kaetus’s hand touched Alex’s back but he barely felt it, any other time he would have been hyperfocused on it, but now...

He’s elated, of course, he knew people on that Ark. It means his people are here now, maybe it can work out. But he’s grown so close to his team that part of him wished it was one of theirs to ease their suffering instead.

“So the Nexus is up and running again?” Alex asked, feeling even more tense than before.

“Yeah, it’s amazing what seeing a Pathfinder will do to people.”

“That Alec Ryder guy, right?”

“No, he’s dead. It’s his kid now, seems to have a good head but I only saw them for a minute before they went down to Eos.”

That doesn’t seem right, a nobody kid as Pathfinder because their dad died, but it’s not exactly surprising because nothing had gone right so far. “Doesn’t matter much, not even a Pathfinder can change anything about the hell we’re in.”

“Give Ryder a chance, Fletcher. And now that one Ark made it we know the others can too. This is good news for everyone. Now, I know you just had some leave but with everything going on I was able to get you guys a few days to be on the Nexus the way it should be.” As if on cue the lights flickered and stayed dimmed. “For the most part. We’re still working out the kinks, but that should be fixed by the end of the day.” Sparks flew from a panel one of the maintenance crew was working on and the lights shut off for a few seconds until a backup program somewhere turned them on again, this time even dimmer than before. “The end of the week for sure. You guys go on, I hear Vortex is already up and running again, the Atrium is open if you want to look at plants or something, spend some time enjoying yourselves for once. This is a big victory.”

“Yes sir,” Alex looked around and even in the dim lighting he had to admit that things were different, people were full of life again. Even if things weren’t quite right yet and they had a slim chance of working out in the long run, right now things were better, he would give Ryder that much.

“Come on, Alex, you’re wasting bar time,” Makar grunted.

“You heard him, Fletcher, take your team to the bar. Dismissed.” Kandros winked and turned to go talk to one of the people working on the panels.

“Human Pathfinder. Right now they’re all we have, maybe they can find the other Arks, maybe even help us set up a real outpost, get things going again,” Valara said as the team walked away.

“I give them a week and a half before we’ve got to get a new Pathfinder,” Alex replied.

 

“Oh come on, you guys. Strip poker, what’s the harm in that? It’s free, it’s fun, the winner is going to have ammunition for years, what’s not to like? Unless you’re scared?” Kaetus leaned forward and cocked his head to the side.

“Oh no way. Come on, you basically look the same naked as you do right now! You’ve got nothing to keep private, the rest of us are more fleshy,” Valara cast a glance at Makar, “for the most part. The point is that we get nothing out of this, you take off your clothes and who is surprised? At best, I win and have nothing to use against you later.”

“You have his credit information,” Alex pointed out.

“I already had that, and yours and Makar’s—”

“But why? What is the point?” Alex interrupted.

“You never know when I want to buy something Addison doesn’t want me buying and I need someone to pin it on.”

“I liked you better when you were quirky and not scary.”

“She has the true mind of a commander, she should lead instead of you, Alex,” Makar said with a throaty chuckle and stood up, likely to grab a drink.

“That’s not very nice,” Alex frowned and looked at Kaetus whose blue eyes were focused on him. All he needed was Alex to say he was on board and he’d have the votes to play, Makar would do anything but Valara needed Alex to do it before she would. And Alex wanted to, stripping in front of Kaetus, Kaetus stripping for him. It was straight out of his reservoir of fantasies.

“Alex, come on, back me up here,” Valara said, calling him back to the present.

On one hand he very much wanted this, the fantasy outcome of this at least, on the other that meant it was a very bad idea. Alex exercised unprecedented self-control when he said, “She’s got a point, I’d rather take your money.”

“Oh like you could take anything from me, Fletcher.” Kaetus didn’t sound disappointed at all and pulled out a deck of cards from the drawer in the coffee table without breaking eye contact with Alex, “Not to distract you from looking at this handsome devil but I believe Makar might need your help.”

Alex realized how he must have been staring (it was Kaetus’s fault for getting the fantasy started up) and shook himself before turning to look at Makar who was currently standing behind the couch. Naked.

“Makar!” Valara yelped.

Alex jumped over the back and stood in front of her, mortified himself but Valara didn’t need to see _that_. A _quad_ (why was he standing with one leg up on the dining room chair? People used that chair. Alex used that chair. And Makar was using that chair to show off his _quad_.)

“What are you doing?” Alex couldn’t look away but god he wanted to. This was Makar. He was like. The kid in their group. I mean technically he was way older than Alex but he acted like the overzealous but lovable little brother, and this was not what he wanted to see of that brother.

“I did a quick search of strip poker and this is what it said to do. What? Aren’t you going to—”

“No, no I’m not. First off that isn’t how you play, second off we are not playing that game. We’re playing regular poker for money so please Makar, put your pants back on.”

“Well fine, if you don’t want to play I’ll put my pants on,” Makar grumbled as he shuffled back to where he had thrown his pants.

Alex took his seat back on the couch and stared down at the floor, trying to wash his mind. Valara looked equally scarred. Kaetus, however, seemed amused. “You’re going to break Makar’s heart all ‘cause you’re afraid to expose your fleshy bits.”

“I’m not afraid to show them off,” Alex gasped mockingly.

“Prove it then, play a game with me,” Kaetus was shuffling the cards. Was it a turian thing or a Kaetus thing to make such intense eye contact while doing mundane things?

“You couldn’t handle a game with me.”

“I dunno, you seem pretty out of practice. When even was the last time you played? I think I could manage.”

“We played a few days ago, don’t you remember?” Makar asked as he took his seat next to Kaetus and across from Valara.

Alex and Kaetus didn’t even register what he had said, Valara just rolled her eyes

Alex shrugged, “Someone’s had to spend all their time out on the field protecting your sorry ass, I haven’t had the time to play much.”

“What does Valara saving me have to do with your free time?”

“Oh, funny, but we both know I’m the one taking out the big baddies for you. Besides, playing poker is like riding a bike, and I was _very_ good at it.”

“Really? Well—”

“Ugh, gross. Just deal the cards and have sexually charged conversations on your own time,” Valara said, shutting down the talk.

“We’ll pick this up later, Fletcher.”

“Whenever you’re ready, Ignaion.”

“What did I say? Put it away boys and let’s play cards. I’ve been thinking about this _sexy_ rifle Vetra got her hands on and I’d like to pay for it with your money.

Makar was the first out, he was always full steam ahead, big bets, lots of talk, and easy to read. Luckily he didn’t take it too hard, he was usually the first out he liked sitting around and telling stories.

Alex was next, he wasn’t paying enough attention, still thinking about his talk with Kaetus and his fantasy not only being more active but also growing due to their conversation. He and Kaetus had always been flirty, it was just part of their personality, but that was new. It was too forward and it got him thinking too much which made for a few too many bad calls.

In the end though, Valara walked away from the table calling Vetra to place an order for the rifle she mentioned (which the others silently admitted was pretty sexy when she started showing them pictures while she bragged). Alex felt a little better knowing his money was going to save his life at least a few times.

Makar turned on the TV and popped in a movie (some action movie they’d all seen a hundred times. It was Makar’s favorite and though the others complained it had become something they legitimately enjoyed). Kaetus leaned back and folded his arms behind his head as he got comfortable. Valara was in the kitchen laughing at something Vetra said (she was apparently working with the Pathfinder now, though good luck getting details out of her. Not that she would have many, they’d only been together for two days). When she finished up she’d probably stay and watch the movie with them, they hadn’t seen it in a while and she liked the main actress in it so much that she’d watch this movie every time Makar put it on.

Alex thought about it for a moment before he stood up, “I’m gonna get some shut eye. I’m getting up early to see my friend in cryo tomorrow morning before we head out, maybe I can see when he’ll be let out now that things are up and running again.”

“Do you want company?” Kaetus looked up, concern and gentleness filling bright blue eyes.

Alex smirked at the turian, “I mean the bed is small but if you wanted I’m sure we could figure it out.”

“Har, har. I’m serious for once Alex, you haven’t seen your friend the entire time I’ve known you, if you want someone to be there for you I don’t mind.”

“No, no. It’s okay, really. I knew when I came here that he wouldn’t be pulled out at the same time but after everything happened I figured it was best to stop hoping and I stopped visiting. Now with that Pathfinder and everything, I thought I’d stop by.”

“Alright, well you know where I sleep so let me know if you change your mind.”

“Take me up on my offer and all I’ll have to do is roll over and ask you.”

“If we shared your bed one of us would literally be sleeping on top of the other.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

Kaetus laughed and waved his hand, “Go to bed or you’ll make me regret turning you down.”

“That’s the plan, sweetie.” Alex winked at him and walked out of the room to the bedroom down the hall.

Two bunks were set up, much like the set up on the shuttle. Valara slept on the top with Makar on the bottom and on the other set Alex slept on top with Kaetus on the bottom, as per Valara’s suggestion. It was no surprise that the asari knew that Alex…admired Kaetus. They had never technically spoken about it but with her extensive knowledge of _personal_ information and the way that she often encouraged certain things in the group, he had no doubt that she at least suspected.

Alex shut the door behind him as an extra buffer, stripped down to his boxers, and climbed up to his bunk.

Due to preemptive measures to avoid the exact feelings he had, he no longer had his vids of turians and humans getting it on, but he did have a vivid imagination so he didn’t exactly need them. Whether that was good or bad depended on what stage of the night he was in.

Right now, it was very good.

And the fantasy, well it went a little like this:

_Strip poker, just the two of us, I’m losing and his eyes linger. He makes a joke about how soft humans are, always joking, always some wiseass crack to say, and I say we can be hard too. Peaks his interest, “Oh? Prove it.” Taunting, like always._

His hand slides down, rubbing himself through his boxers. He hasn’t had the time or privacy to do this in a long time and holy hell did he need it.

Of course the farther along he gets in the fantasy the jumpier it gets and the less sense it makes to an outsider until it becomes something more like:

_Fuck, long fingers, “I don’t think you can take it,” he whispers. “Please, need it,” begging. Finger leaves, he grabs my hips, tip presses against me and—fuck_

And well, that’s that this time. He’s been without for a long time (he loved his team but having no space from each other made doing things like that more difficult) and he felt a little rushed with his friends in the next room, he didn’t have much hope making the fantasy last longer.

However at this stage in the night it is worth noting that his vivid imagination is labelled ‘bad’ and the guilt begins to gnaw away at him. How could he think of one of his best friends in such a way when their friendship literally could mean life or death on the field. Sure, it would be fun if Kaetus was interested, which nothing even said he was, but after an argument when they’re facing kett? Not that either one would let the other die knowingly, but maybe they are on opposite sides of the base, maybe they’re paying less attention to each other, maybe something just goes a little bit wrong one time and that’s that. Not to mention what would happen _when_ they broke up.

It was exciting right now because it wasn’t real and they were all lonely, that’s all.

Alex repeated his little mantras and well-rehearsed speeches about the situation while he cleaned up and then actually went to bed with Kaetus none the wiser on what had just transpired.

 

They didn’t let many people into cryo, especially after the mutiny. People were worried about tampering for obvious reasons, but having the Strike Team Nine decal, one crescent inside another with a line going through it (Valara’s idea, Alex wanted a big middle finger), got Alex into a lot of places he wasn’t technically supposed to be.

“That’s him right there. I’ll give you some privacy, let me know when you’re finished.”

“Thanks man.”

Alex walked up to the pod and hesitantly put his hand on it, “Sorry it’s taken a bit longer than it was supposed to. I am glad we haven’t been able to pull you out yet, though, I want you to come out to see a real Golden World. I’ll tell you all the stories of what it was like before, but mom would kill me if I let them take you out now. There’s nothing for you here, not yet. I haven’t forgotten you, Ty, I just need a little more time to make it safe for you. But the second this gets figured out, I’ll go straight to the Pathfinder and get you out of there. This Ryder owes me after all the shit I’ve done while they took a nap, not to mention Kandros wants us as the go to team for Ryder’s commands. They have some good intel and jobs for us, I figure if I do them right they can’t say no to letting you out.”

He wasn’t sure what else to say, Tyler couldn’t even hear him technically. He thought talking to his brother would make him feel better about leaving him in there, but instead he felt worse about it.

As he left he decided this meant he had to kick it up a notch, the better he did out there the faster he could get Tyler out of there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, what a jumpy chapter? So many things going on but I thought I'd leave out the boring parts while we are still getting started.  
> Suggestions on Bro or Sis Ryder? I've got really general plans on both of them, we won't see them in person a lot but the team hears about them and has a couple interactions I guess.  
> Also thanks for such positive feedback and everything! Totally not what I expected but as a creature who thrives on validation and attention and I am loving it and it actually pushed me to write a lot faster, so who's the real winner here?  
> Unedited (so was the last chapter, but this time for a real reason, I'm supposed to be in my Wines class in like ten minutes and I've got to get a mailbox still, so like, mostly just trying to post it now so I don't forget)  
> I hope you guys are still enjoying it! Feel free to tell me what you guys want to see more or less of, if you want different POVs, more action more just hanging out, honestly I haven't really planned much except for like, major things later on so this is a great time to get the fic about APEX you always wanted  
> See ya guys soon


	3. A Bumpy Landing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strike Team 9 in action (granted, it hasn't been a very good day for them)

“Makar! Give me a place to land!”

“Sure thing, boss.” The door slid open and the krogan stood in the doorway, firing down at the kett blocking Alex’s landing.

“Alex, I hope you know what you’re doing!” Valara yelled from the back.

“Brace yourself!”

“That’s not exactly reassuring!”

“Valara, sweetheart, I love you but please just get ready to land!” Alex’s face was screwed up in concentration. Things hadn’t exactly been working out the way they should have, though this was probably the pinnacle of the day in terms of really fucked up shit.

“It feels a little more like we’re about to crash!” Kaetus said from the copilot seat.

“Now isn’t exactly the time to get smart, Ignanion, I’m trying to figure out this landing!”

“Crash, not landing!” Valara said, grabbing on to the bar above the doorway, ready for a quick getaway from the shuttle.

“Fine, crash!” Alex conceded, “Kaetus, open your door and get ready to tuck and roll, baby!”

“Is that a human thing? Turians can’t exactly—”

“Everyone, get out!” Alex shouted as he fought to keep the shuttle from nosediving straight into the ground.

Makar jumped first, shooting down kett as he did to make a path for Valara. She brought up an attack turret to help as she looked for a place to take cover from the inevitable explosion.

“Kaetus did you not hear me? Get out of the goddamn shuttle!”

“Not without you, Fletcher.”

“This isn’t an argument, when I jump this thing is going down and if you aren’t far enough away you’re going to get caught up in it! The mission takes priority, so get the fuck out of my shuttle!”

“You’re my priority!” Kaetus shouted back.

Alex felt like everything was going in slow motion. He took one, two, deep breaths and looked up at Kaetus who was staring at him with more intensity than Alex thought possible. He half smiled and said, “Keep talking like that and I’ll think all this flirting means something.” He reached over, his thumb brushing along a mandible for a moment before dropping to his shoulder.

The copilot refusing to leave the ship in danger was not new, it was why Alliance military installed a button on the controls so you could open their door without letting go. Alex pressed that button and gave Kaetus a good shove.

Alex watched him tumble through the air for a moment before he was upright enough to use his jetpack to lightly touchdown.

Valara waved to him, signaling where they were taking cover. He cast one look up at the shuttle, his mouth and closing as he shouted but Alex could hear him over the rest of the noise.

“You’re my priority, Kaetus, I couldn’t just let you die in here,” Alex said (it was easier to admit when he was alone) and the shuttle took another steep drop. Alex couldn’t keep her up anymore, she had been fighting him the whole way and he finally ran out of buttons to push.

Kaetus vaulted over a barrier wall and Alex let go of the controls completely. He slammed a red button to his left and his door popped open. He reached behind him, grabbing his gun just in case he survived this, stood up and leapt from the smoking shuttle.

He boosted forward and shielded himself with biotics just as the shuttle hit the ground (and unfortunately a few explosive containers which didn’t help matters).

His barrier failed instantly but it was enough to take most of the blow, he couldn’t do much about falling to the ground afterwards though. He imagined himself to look exactly like the hero from Makar’s favorite action movie, falling to the ground and rolling off to the side, completely motionless as his friends ran up to see if he was okay.

His ears were ringing and he rolled over, feeling the bruises and what was probably at least one cracked rib, armor could only do so much. He lay on his back panting and looked over to see Valara, Kaetus, and Makar rushing towards him.

“—ex! Alex!” His hearing was coming back, that was good. “Alex are you okay?” Valara dropped to her knees when she got to him, already on her omni-tool for some much needed medigel.

“Alex, what the—”

“Kaetus, Makar, get them off us!” Valara snapped, staring Kaetus down.

His mandibles twitched in frustration but he nodded, “There can’t be too many left around here, let’s secure the area for the next few minutes at least,” and stalked off.

As Makar walked by he said, “That was badass, Alex. Don’t pull a stunt like that again.”

“Understood, Makar,” Alex said between sharp breaths.

“Quiet you giant moron,” Valara frowned, avoiding eye contact.

“That the best you can do? I think you’re going to lose today’s game of who can be the biggest asshole in APEX.”

“I think you won that one today. That was real dumb, Alex. You should have jumped with the rest of us, you could have gotten killed. It was a suicide move and you know it.”

“Ship would have crashed right on top of all four of us, Kaetus and Makar don’t have biotics, you have some but definitely not enough to shield yourself from the blast, I may have been the only one to survive it. I weighed the cost and your lives were worth it.”

“You pushed Kaetus out of the shuttle. He’s not exactly happy with you. Hell, I’m not happy with you, I thought you’d be right behind me. But Kaetus—”

“Survived. He survived the blast. I can handle the fallout but I wouldn’t have been able to handle any of you dying.”

Valar stopped cold, “And us? You think we could have if it was you?”

“I’m an ultimately selfish creature,” Alex admitted jokingly.

“Don’t you dare—”

“I’m sorry.” Alex was staring up at the sky, he swallowed past the lump in his throat, past all the jokes and carefree façade, he cared. A lot. And he knew what he had done and what it would have meant. “You’re right. I knew the chances of my survival when I jumped out and I’m the first to admit I should not have made it. And I was willing to put that weight on all of you so I wouldn’t have to live with it if it was one of you. And that was—”

“Fucked up.”

He started to laugh but it fizzled out into a pained cough, “Fucked up,” he agreed, “Next time we all jump together.”

“Good boy, now let’s get you patched up.” She returned to working on her omni-tool and Alex felt his body relax for a moment.

He was propped up against the makeshift wall when Makar and Kaetus came back, and Kaetus looked absolutely livid.

Thankfully, Valara saw this from a long way off and jumped up to grab him by the shoulder as he stormed toward Alex, she took him off to the side and started talking to him, glancing over Alex every now and then while she did so.

Makar sat on top of the kett containers they were using and starting cleaning up his gun. “That took a quad, Fletcher.”

“Back on Earth, some circles referred to me as the human krogan.”

Makar laughed, a full, deep laugh, and said, “I wouldn’t go that far, but you did the right thing. Kaetus may not see it that way, but he’s just mad because he would have done the same thing if it was him in the pilot’s seat. Valara would have done something smarter though, maybe she wouldn’t have crashed in the first place, that’s why she’s mad.”

“I’d just like to say it’s not my fault the kett caught us flying in and decided to shoot us down.”

“Fair enough.”

“What about you, Makar? You mad too?”

“Nah, I’m not mad. I would have done something even more stupid than that if I’d been flying. I’m just glad you lived, I would’ve missed cracking skulls with you.”

Alex smiled, “Yeah, I would’ve too.”

“So never pull a stunt like that again.” Makar looked up at Alex, his dark orange eyes reminded Alex of fire and the fact that he looked so serious and a little angry (despite saying he wasn’t mad) didn’t help him see something friendlier than that.

“Already promised Valara that next time we all live or die together, we’re a team and I’m not going off to some shiny place in the sky without you assholes. They’re not gonna like me up there, I keep making vulgar signs, so I need my team to have my back.”

“Damn right.” Makar nodded and went back to cleaning his gun.

“Fletcher!” Kaetus’s rough voice called him. This was going to be the bad one. “Do you fuck like you fly?”

“You mean exciting, dangerous, a once in a life time experience with an explosive and climactic finish?”

“No, I mean fucking shitty.”

“Ouch. You wanna find out, Kaetus? See who’s right?”

“I wanna find out what was going through your thick skull.” Valara elbowed him and he looked at her, sighed, and said, “But Valara said we’re letting you off easy this time. And she’s already agreed to tear out that button so only I can open my door from now on.”

“You better hope it doesn’t get jammed and then someone has to walk around and open it from the outside, though admittedly that would be kind of romantic. As long as it’s not in the middle of a firefight.”

“Keep joking Alex, but I’m dead serious. Don’t pull a stunt like this again, I thought—”

“I’m not dying any time soon. I already put a large sum of money on the pool at Vortex that I was going to live longer than Valara.”

“Not likely for about seventy two reasons,” she retorted.

“That’s because you haven’t considered someone tipping Allison off about certain activities. I’m biding my time, a few more dumb stunts like this and everyone will be betting on you, that’s when I can capitalize on this information.”

“Allison may kill me, but I’ll get you before she gets me,” Valara held her hand out to Alex and he took it to help himself up.

“Well, it’s safe to say we will need a pickup out of here,” Alex gestured to the wreck behind them, most of the flames had died down by now.

“Already called Kandros, someone is on their way but it’s going to take time,” Valara answered.

“Which means this isn’t the in and out mission it was supposed to be. Valara, hack the terminal and destroy any evidence of where our people are, any shipments we’re sending, any information at all, I want it gone. That’s the mission, it should have been simple, but now we’re also playing a really long game of survival in a very hot kett base. We’re in it for the long haul.”

“Usually you’re much more motivational,” Kaetus said as he reloaded.

“Yeah, well usually I’m not in this much pain right after a landing.”

“Sweetheart, that was a crash,” Valara patted his cheek and got a better grip on her gun, “How’s this for motivation, Kaetus, we got kett incoming!”

He grabbed his rifle, “Now see,” he paused while he pulled the trigger, a Chosen’s head exploded into many little green pieces, “that was motivational.”

“I’ll start taking notes,” Alex remarked as he grabbed his shotgun and did a biotic charge into the center of a small group, then used Nova to inflict some damage while Makar came up behind him, using the assault rifle to finish them off.

“Valara, there’s a terminal over here! You get on it, Makar will stay with you while you focus on that. Set up a turret too. Kaetus, I want you watching the doorway from outside. I’m going out too, I’ll try and slow them down before they get to you guys in here.”

“I’ve got your back, Alex,” Kaetus said over the comms.

Alex switched to his assault rifle, without Makar behind him the shotgun always seemed too slow for combat, especially with Kaetus using his sniper rifle which was quite a bit slower, even if he owed his life to it too many times to count.

Kaetus overloaded one of their barriers and Alex went in for the kill, a shot echoed and when he turned around a Destined lie dead at his feet. He used Shockwave to knock at a Chosen ducking behind cover and fired when he stood up after being hit.

And on and on it went. Enemy after enemy, Kaetus set one on fire and he charged in for a surprise biotic attack, he heard Makar slamming down his hammer, screaming some sort of battle cry as he head-butt opponents who got too close.”

“Valara, where are we?”

“I need more time, I can’t get past this firewall.”

“You heard her, guys, more time! Makar, get them away from her.”

“Keep them from coming through the door and I won’t have to do all the heavy lifting,” he grunted.

“Oh, you wanna play, big boy?”

“I’m not even sure you know the game.”

“Most kills before Valara is done gets to drink on the others tab.”

“You got yourself a deal, Alex,” Makar laughed and Alex looked up at Kaetus from his vantage point, _How’s that for motivation?_

They periodically updated each other on the kill count over the comms, going back and forth with who was in the lead, until Valara interrupted them (Alex would later blame her for Makar winning by two, claiming that she should have waited just one more minute until he took down a few more).

“Done! Good to go! I deleted more than we needed, they may have some trouble getting their own shipments now too.”

“And this is why you’re our queen,” Alex replied as he took cover to get his shields back.

“And here I thought it was for my good looks.”

“Oh come on, if we went on looks alone you know I’m the prettiest,” Alex retorted, firing randomly over the container.

“Oh I don’t know, I think Makar would look nice in a dress,” Kaetus’s voice seemed calm but just before Alex had heard his pistol which meant he wasn’t just lounging around up there.

“Like beef jerky in a ball gown!” Makar laughed as he rushed out through the doorway, looking both ways for something to shoot.

“What I’d give to see that, I’d concede my title as queen,” Valara took cover beside Alex and poked her head up to shoot another one down.

“You’ll have to find something that compliments my eyes,” Makar lowered his gun when he decided there was nobody left to shoot.

“I’m sure the Nexus will have _something_ ,” Kaetus jumped down, using his jetpack to give him a soft landing.

“How is everyone? Anyone need ammo, medigel, I’ve got a granola bar in my pack if you want a snack—”

“What a concerned dad you are, Alex,” Valara teased.

“Lots of practice with you guys around I guess.” Alex pushed away memories of taking Tyler to the water park. He’d bought a fanny pack just to embarrass the kid but by the end of the day Ty was asking for all sorts of stuff that he had in there. He may not have always worn the fanny pack after that but he always made sure he had snacks and stuff for him after that.

“I think we’re all good right now. How far away is the evac?” Makar asked.

“Close but not close enough. The kett will be back on us soon, I suggest everyone get ready,” Valara answered after looking at her omni-tool, presumably for status on the new shuttle.

“They’ll radio in when they’re close, let’s just focus on surviving until they get here. We can deal with the rest later,” Alex agreed and readied himself for the next wave.

 

“You’re going to need to go to the infirmary when you get back on the Nexus. The Hyperion has a good doctor there and they have more supplies than the rest of the Nexus does in that department right now, especially for humans.”

The salarian copilot was sitting in the back with the rest of the team. He had some training as a field medic too which was one of the reasons they had sent him along, apparently Valara had also told them about Alex’s injuries sustained from the crash (leaving out the exact details thankfully, Kandros would suspend him for psych reasons and he didn’t want that. Though maybe he would look into seeing a therapist).

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s protocol. In fact, you won’t even be walking there yourself, you’ll have to be taken in this wheelchair,” the salarian gestured to the space next to the door where a folded up wheelchair was.

“Oh no way, not happening. I just left a huge firefight, I’m fine.”

“Even more of a reason, adrenaline has kept you going this long but very soon you’re going to crash,” Makar snickered and mumbled the word crash under his breath, “after looking you over, I’ll be surprised if you get into the chair without a lot of pain.”

“Look, I know you mean well, but—”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him in the chair and to the infirmary,” Kaetus interrupted.

Alex sighed and stared up at the ceiling. They made him lay on the floor of the shuttle of course, initially for the salarian to check him over and then because he was, ‘in too critical a state to move around’. At least they weren’t bringing a team of medics to carry him on a stretcher.

They docked a few hours later and Makar picked him up like a toddler and helped him into the chair (he wouldn’t admit it but the salarian was right, even doing as little as he did to get into the chair he was in a pretty good amount of pain already). Kaetus pushed him along to the tram. Valara and Makar chatted behind them as they followed along but Kaetus was eerily quiet.

“It’s the Hyperion Cryo Bay, isn’t it?” Valara asked when they got on.

“Yeah, they’ve got the whole set up there still while they get people out,” Alex answered and Kaetus tapped Cryo Bay and the tram lurched forward.

In a matter of minutes Alex was lying on the bed while the doctor checked him over, got him hooked up to one of the machines to keep an eye on him, and gave him some pills before checking on another patient. He told the team that Alex would be staying for at least a night or two while his body healed (thank god for advanced medicine and injuries that weren’t terribly severe on their own) and that he would call them with updates on his condition. Instead they pulled over three foldable chairs and sat down next to him.

The doctor rolled his eyes but allowed them to stay and turned to the bed beside Alex.

Sara Ryder.

In that moment Alex felt a little closer to the Pathfinder. His sibling was still in a limbo state too, maybe under different circumstances but Alex couldn’t be sure that Ty would get out of cryo soon, if ever to be completely honest. Like Scott he knew what it was like to worry over a sibling and to face this new galaxy alone, just trying to make it a better place before they wake up.

“And then he comes in over the private channel on the comms and says, ‘I’ve still got that granola bar if you want it’!” Valara says and they all start cracking up.

A small smile crossed Alex’s face, _Well, maybe I’m not facing it alone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I was playing today. I found out that there is another turian name Kaetus. So if you were thinking that maybe that was intentional, it was not. I just used a random generator and I liked it and now I'm seeing all these datapads with stuff about Kaetus and I'm like, "You got something to say about my boy?" but they don't, it's not my boy.  
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed it. I decided to go with Scott as Pathfinder, I'm playing as Sara (cause I wanna romance Jaal and Bioware won't let me) so I figured if I wasn't giving Scott attention in game I would give it to him here.  
> Also, just thinking about romances for this, everyone is gay. All of them. Gay twins, gay strike team (at least 3/4, haven't fully decided on number 4 yet), gay side characters. Gay everywhere so I hope you guys like all sorts of gay stuff because it only gets gayer (If Bioware won't let me play the game as gay as I am in real life then I'll just have to make the fic gayer)


	4. Good Lessons to Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lesson One: Don't bet against a certain asari who knows way to much and likes your favorite clothes, you might lose your shirt.  
> Lesson Two: Always blame the pain killers

“Kandros, if you keep giving us leave we’ll be out of a job,” Alex’s voice was light but even Kandros had a hard time making eye contact.

“And believe me, I’m the last one who wants that. You know you’re my best team out there, but you’re only my best if you’re at your best. You’re not getting back out there until the doctor says you’re good to go. Besides, we’re still in the process of working out the shuttle situation. We were already struggling in that department, now we’re another one short. So just think of this as paid vacation until we get everything sorted out and you back on your feet.”

“I’m literally standing in front of you right now, I’m on my feet. We’ll take a shuttle from one of the new groups, the jobs you give us can’t just be passed on to anyone—”

“They’re not going to just anyone, Fletcher. Team Two is taking care of this. They may not have you’re rep but they’re good too. This not up for debate, until I get a call saying you’re ready to go back to the field with no complications, you’re not going back on the field. End of story.”

“Kandros, I’m—”

“Dismissed Fletcher.” Kandros had the advantage of height and general intimidating appearance, he towered over Alex with his hands behind his back, a commanding voice, and his eyes demanded compliance and no matter how much Alex puffed out his chest and raised his chin, there are some battles even he couldn’t win.

“Yes sir.” He grit his teeth and turned on his heel. He stalked off to where his team was, leaning against the wall talking amongst themselves, and said, “He’s not letting us go until the doc calls him and says I’m farther along in the healing process.” (Advanced medicine was good but there were few medications better than time when it came to cracked ribs and generally worn down bodies.)

“I’m going to start getting cabin fever,” Valara groaned, “I haven’t even got to break out my new baby, Vetra only got her to me yesterday.” Valara had taken the new rifle apart four times in front of everyone to go over, in detail, how perfect it was. And Alex was ready to admit she was beautiful, but she would be even more beautiful in action than on the coffee table.

“At least we’re getting paid for it, and it will probably only be another couple days. Doc’s been really impressed with how you’ve been healing, I’m sure it won’t be much longer,” Kaetus offered.

Makar huffed, “It would have been nice to kill more of those bastards but there’s not much we can do about it right now. Just means we’ll have to kill twice as many next time we have a mission.”

“We may not be able to go on a mission yet but I can still take your money, let’s go play some cards. You look like you could benefit from something relaxing like losing,” Valara tilted her head toward the door and pushed off the wall.

“What is it you’re saving up for now?” Alex asked as he followed her.

“A very nice helmet, you’ll like it. Maybe I’ll even let you try it on.”

 

Like almost everything, Kaetus started it.

“And uh,” he looked at his hand again, made a thoughtful clicking noise, then sat back and pulled his shirt over his head, “I bet 15 credits and my shirt.” He set the lightweight, white shirt on the table.

Alex loved that shirt, turians spent most of their time in amour (they were like krogans in the fact that they were military first, people second, though they didn’t like to hear how similar they were), but when they wore casual clothes they had to be loose and with wide necks that accommodated the carapace and other difficult angles. And Kaetus pulled that look off.

“What am I supposed to do with that? Useless to me, I can’t pay anyone with that,” Valara frowned at the shirt.

“Oh come on, Valara, isn’t looking at all this reward enough?” Kaetus teased and gestured to his torso.

Of course Alex was more than focused. Gray black plates, covered him, he could see the hooks of his hips, his pants sat low (anything else would have gotten caught on something). He’d seen Kaetus shirtless before, maybe not completely naked (he always made sure to look away before it got to that), but every time he found himself staring (usually obvious open mouthed staring).

“It doesn’t buy me my helmet and it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” Alex found it amazing how disinterested she was.

“You can keep the shirt, it’s not just me sitting here shirtless for you, you can keep it,” Kaetus waved his hand at it and Valara looked at it with renewed interest. She looked at her cards then back to the shirt.

“Throw in the dark blue one too and I’ll take it.”

“Deal.”

“Makar?” Valara asked now that Kaetus’s bet had been accepted.

“All in, heh heh heh.”

“As much as I love taking your money, are you really sure you want to?” Valara didn’t look concerned, instead she looked like she was already adding his credits up in her mind.

“I sure am, this time for sure.” Makar was the reason a credit cap had been installed and why Kaetus was now throwing clothes in instead of more credits.

“Alright, now what was that, 35?” Valara asked.

“40!”

“40…alright, I’ll call.”

“Same.” Alex said, finally tearing his gaze away.

Kaetus won, much to Valara’s dislike, but didn’t put his shirt back on which didn’t help Alex in the game.

He was down to twenty credits and the bet was high, but he felt good about this. Good enough to raise the bet, get more money from Valara for once. But 20 credits wasn’t going to help that.

“Come on, Fletcher I don’t have all day,” the asari said.

Kaetus was watching him intently but silently. Alex chanced another glance at his chest despite being watched and then sat forward and pulled his own up over his head. “20 and my shirt.”

“Oh no, not this again,” Valara shook her head and tried to wave him off.

“I know I’m prettier to look at, Valara, but you accepted mine, you’ve gotta take his,” Kaetus pointed out.

“Fine, but I want that hoodie with the thumb holes too.”

“Alright, the hoodie too.”

“Good, and I—”

“Now wait a minute, I can’t wear Alex’s clothes if I win,” Kaetus argued.

“That would require you to win for it to matter, Kaetus. Another 50 credits.”

“When I win we’ll figure it out, Alex,” Kaetus winked and called the bet.

Alex didn’t win. But neither did Kaetus. Valara however decided to pull out of the game and go collect her new hoodie, which Alex silently mourned. He really thought he had that one in the bag.

Makar turned on a movie, one they hadn’t seen before surprisingly, but Alex wasn’t that interested in it. And though he didn’t like to admit it, he’d been feeling tired lately from the medication the doctor had him on and he would need another pill to stop the pain soon.

He started to stand up but quickly stopped, grabbing his side as a sharp pain ripped through him, something that didn’t escape Kaetus’s notice.

“If you want to be ready for missions again you need to rest up. Come on,” he slid one arm around Alex’s back and helped him to his feet.

“Bah, all these humans and their kissing,” Makar grunted as he pressed fast forward. Valara didn’t stop him like she did during their traditional movie, she didn’t seem that invested in this one.

Kaetus walked him through the hole in the wall (which had been halfway converted to a doorway for Alex. He couldn’t climb to the top bunk very well anymore and the way turian bodies were set up made it impossible to climbing a ladder to a small space where even a human can’t comfortably sit up, so it wasn’t like they could switch bunks. Instead, Makar broke down the wall a bit more and they used the apartment next door too. Though Alex wasn’t fond of the setup, he didn’t sleep well alone, too many nights on the field. He would wake up over and over through the night, jumping at every noise. But there wasn’t much he could do about it until he healed up, so he just resolved to keep a knife in the drawer. There if he needed it, but it wasn’t something so readily available that he could accidentally hurt someone.

“You know, Makar does have a point. All you humans do is kiss, it’s ridiculous,” Kaetus teased.

“We do a lot more than kiss, Ignaion,” Alex chuckled as they walked through to the other side of the apartment.

“Yeah, but it’s the majority. I mean, everywhere I look you guys are just kissing. All the time.”

“I bet you’re just mad because turians can’t kiss worth a damn.”

He chuckled, “Watch your mouth, Alex.”

“Why? Are you just gonna get more confused on how it works?” Did that make sense? Alex was feeling off still from poker, the pain meds weren’t helping either.

“Or I’ll have to prove you wrong.”

Alex breath hitched as they crossed the threshold of the bedroom. “I don’t believe you.”

“I’ve seen plenty of vids as I’m sure Valara can tell you, I think I can manage.”

“Turians don’t kiss in their vids,” Alex said. Kaetus gave him a sly look. His started to open his mouth, no doubt to ask how Alex would know, when Alex rushed out, “Do they?” His cheeks felt hot, there was no way Kaetus was fooled but he didn’t question it.

“Never said I was watching just turians. You can ask Valara if you want the details.”

Alex cleared his throat nervously, “She knows so much but never says why. Why does she need to know what vids we have?”

“I’ve learned not to ask too many questions about that, the answers can’t be good.” Kaetus let go of him and turned to face him.

“Right.” The silence felt heavy and awkward, so awkward that Alex decided to go back to the original conversation. “Not turians?”

“My tastes have broadened lately.”

“Oh. Good. Good. Yeah. Asaris kiss too I hear.”

“Do they?” He winked and Alex had to swallow past the lump in his throat.

“Oh. So. Human vids then? They’re the only other one I can think who do a lot of that.”

“Humans in vids at least, not just on their own usually. Always with the kissing.”

“It’s pretty great. We uh, we really enjoy it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Have you, uh, have you ever done it before?” Could he still blame this on the pain meds? Technically he hadn’t taken one since this morning. He was going to take one before bed but could he call it preemptive pain killer high?

“I can’t believe you’re finally tongue tied, after all the talk we do it’s this that scares you? Is it ‘cause we’re alone in your bedroom or is it talking about kissing that’s doing it? Just so I can keep it in mind for next time. But to answer your question, I haven’t. I’d like to though. See what all the hype is about.”

“Oh well, I mean, you’re good looking. For a turian I mean, how pretty can you be when you look like that?” The answer was very pretty and they both knew it, “So I’m sure you could find someone to indulge you.”

“Where’s all that big talk now, Alex? Aren’t you going to tell me you’re the greatest kisser in Andromeda? I guess I got my hopes up for nothing.”

“I mean, I’m pretty good.”

“Prove it, Fletcher.”

When did they get so close? Kaetus is mere inches away from Alex and his eyes are watching him closely. Alex knows it’s because Kaetus wants it to be on his terms, he’s the same way with everything new, never wanting to push boundaries too much without knowing for sure it was okay. It was sweet, wonderful actually, but it was terrifying too. What happened next, it was all on Alex, even with the “preemptive pain killer high”.

Alex’s eyes drifted to the turian’s chest, how could he have forgotten that Kaetus was still shirtless? That they both were? All that bare skin to…plate contact this whole way over and he wasn’t even paying attention.

His hand slid up Kaetus’s torso, memorizing the ridges and where the plates overlapped. When he reached the turian’s neck it wasn’t soft like Alex’s, more leathery than anything, but it wasn’t gross or anything which was another surprise. He’d always worried that if he actually did something with turian that would hate it or e grossed out by something like that, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

His mandibles flexed and he closed his eyes, sighing quietly. Alex noted that it was sensitive there, which made sense because even though the plates had nerve endings it wouldn’t be the same. Alex’s other hand rests in the hook of his hip.

Kaetus’s hand goes back to his lower back, gently pushing him closer and Alex complies, closing the distance and presses his body fully against Kaetus’s. When he speaks his voice is almost tight with tension, but obviously the good kind, “Go on, take your time, Fletcher, but stalling isn’t going to make you any better.”

“I don’t know what those vids told you, but a good kiss is more than just mashing faces together,” his fingers on Kaetus’s neck start rubbing slow circles and Kaetus lets out a soft moan, “it’s about the buildup too.”

“I think you’ve done plenty of buildup,” he breathed, “now why don’t you just kiss me?”

“You asked for it,” he smiles and reaches up (almost on his toes but not quite, but still what a height difference).

“I’m literally begging for it, Alex,” Kaetus whispered as he leaned down to make it easier.

It started off as a soft kiss, like most human first kisses, lips touching lips (kind of) and both just breathing it in for a moment. And as it was pointed out before, Kaetus can feel Alex’s lips against his plates, but he wasn’t getting the full experience. Not that he wasn’t thoroughly enjoying it, turians just can’t participate in the same ways as humans can. He wasn’t even aware he was missing out on something until Alex’s tongue traces the indent of his upper “lip” which was surprisingly sensitive. So much so that Kaetus literally gasped.

Alex’s tongue slipped inside his mouth, moving against his own tongue. The turian tasted almost spicy, there was a sharpness that Alex didn’t expect and really, really enjoyed. But Kaetus is still obviously behind on the learning curve and everything Alex did took him by surprise. At first he just stands there and lets the kiss happen to him (albeit happily) until he realized how passive he was being and decides he’s not content with letting Alex ‘win’.

His tongue presses into Alex’s mouth, not all the way though, turian tongues are quite a bit longer. It’s also rougher, though not unpleasantly so and Kaetus is surprisingly gentle as he explores Alex’s mouth.

Suddenly Kaetus pulls away and looks down sheepishly, Alex following his gaze to see the tip of _something_ slowly start to form a tent in Kaetus’s loose pants. He awkwardly clears his throat and looks back up at Alex, “I wouldn’t say you’re the best in Andromeda.”

“I don’t know, you seemed to like it,” Alex tears his eyes away from the bulge. Kaetus seemed to have calmed himself down or turian vids were even worse than the human ones because it remained just barely noticeable.

“Well I didn’t say I didn’t, I’m just not sure how high on the list you can be.”

“I’m pretty high.”

Kaetus’s eyes soften as he looks down at Alex. He then shifts nervously and jerks a thumb (is it a thumb if you only have three very large fingers?) over his shoulder to the doorway, “I should get back.”

Alex’s face fell for a moment but he recovered in record speed, “Yeah, yeah totally. We’ve both got to get some rest.”

“I mean. Unless. Unless you wanted someone to stay. I know how weird it is sleeping alone after all we’ve been through. I can take the chair or something,” he gestured to a cushy armchair in the corner of the room.

“You know we are in a suite right now? This bed actually is big enough for two.”

“I didn’t want to presume anything, I mean—”

“Nothing about the kiss or anything. That was purely for your curiosity and education of course, but I’m not going to make you sleep in a chair when I have this bed to myself.”

“Right, curiosity and education. Would I be able to come back if I have more questions or uh…would like an advanced class?”

“Thinking of something in particular, Ignanion?” Alex’s lips twitched up into a smirk.

Kaetus looked at him with hungry, wandering eyes. “May be best to wait until you’re more healed, I might need lessons that are a bit more intense than that one.”

“Fair enough, you’re scared, but you know where I am when you’re ready,” Alex smiled despite the jokes, the kiss still didn’t feel real.

“Turians don’t kiss like you do, but we show our affections other ways,” Kaetus stepped back towards Alex and touched his forehead to the smaller man’s. They both closed their eyes and let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.

“Kaetus, I want you to stay,” Alex whispered.

“Never figured you to be the clingy one after a kiss, Fletcher.”

“I’m just worried your knees will be too weak for you to make it to your bed.”

“Fair enough.”

Alex went to sleep without even remembering to take the pain killers. He did wake up 86 minutes later in enough pain to ask Kaetus to grab him one, but the point was that Kaetus was there to do it for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello, thought as a reward to myself for getting a B on my first Wines test and a "treat yourself" moment for the super shitty day I had that I'd whip up a good chapter of turian kissing finally.  
> I'd also like to mention a few things that are similar with Alex and I. We both love turians, we both are oblivious as fuck (no joke, what you see Alex doing, this turian obviously seriously flirting and it isn't until Kaetus is literally asking him to kiss him, alone, after talking about watching porn with humans and he's always wanted to try out kissing, that's me. And even then, both Alex and I are skeptical on whether it's a joke and when it's not, we both would literally see this as an "oh he just wanted to try it out" until proven otherwise. Thankfully Kaetus tries to get it across that it was more than that without actually saying it, awkward turians are my favorite turians), and we both believe in quantity over quality in joke telling. I went into this story with three jokes and I've used them all up so like, prepare for more shitty jokes my friends because it used to be one not bad joke per chapter, now we're getting into the land of "tell enough jokes and one might not be so bad" (which truthfully was most of the other chapters too so maybe it's not very different now that I think about it).  
> Anyways, hope to hear from you guys, I've been putting more effort into this story than I'd like to admit so if you guys wanna help take the load off my back with stuff you wanna see let me know. (Don't worry, we're gonna see more of baby Makar and scary Valara in the next few chapters, but I wanted to give something good to my boys here. I spent the last three chapters with a lot of awful flirting and I wanted to give you guys something for sticking around, don't worry, there's more really bad flirting if you're into that and more of Alex freaking out about this being a thing, but it wouldn't be much of a gay human/turian story if we didn't have some actual gay human/turian content, would it?)


	5. A Morning Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valara and Alex have a good heart to heart talk about the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm gonna be honest this isn't the most exciting chapter but I think that we just don't know a lot about this group and I wanted to focus on a little backstory telling and relationship building between friends. So sorry it's a little static but I hope you guys like it anyways, if not the next chapter will be more fun

“Was that Kaetus doing the walk of shame earlier?” Valara was leaning against the doorway of Alex’s temporary room. Kaetus had left about a half hour ago, they had hoped it was early enough to go unnoticed. They hadn’t talked about anything and until they did they thought it best if the other two didn’t exactly know what was going on.

They should have known they were fools to try and hide anything from Valara, she can sniff out secrets the moment they enter the universe.

“It wasn’t the walk of shame, it was Kaetus—”

“Leaving your room in the early morning with a certain giddiness about him while avoiding to look up from the ground in case he accidentally made eye contact with anyone. Oh yeah, and I forgot to say wearing the same pants as last night. I say pants because he wasn’t wearing a shirt, which I’m sure you’re well aware of.” The asari winked playfully.

“It wasn’t like that. I mean, we kissed but nothing else. He just slept next to me, he knew I don’t like sleeping alone.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure it had nothing to do with he wanted to cuddle you and shit,” she sat down on the bed and looked at Alex who was by the dresser. When he just stared blankly at her she rolled her eyes and pat the spot next to her, “This is the part where you sit down and tell me everything.”

“Oh,” Alex blinked in surprise. He hadn’t done this kind of thing since he was in high school and his sister would sit with him and they’d talk about their boy troubles. She had been the first one he opened up to. He shook those thoughts away, no time to think about that now, and sat next to Valara.

“Come on, spill. You kissed, now what?”

Alex sighed, green eyes looked up to the ceiling, “I don’t know. I mean, as you know, I’ve had some…developing feelings—”

“I think you mean really gay feelings,” she interjected.

“—for Kaetus for a while now. And last night he took me back to my room and we were joking around about humans and kissing and he wanted to try it out. But I’m not sure about anything else. Of course I like him but I mean, you ever seen a human and a turian for more than a fling? And not only that but we’re on a team, it could ruin the whole dynamic.”

“Alex, I’m going to tell you that you guys have been hardcore dating for the last couple months and it’s been gross to watch, I mean you flirt like there’s no tomorrow. I don’t think anything will change, just make it official. And who cares if you don’t see a couple like you very often? Why did you come to Andromeda, Alex? This whole team avoids that question like the freaking plague. We do it because no matter the excuse and the story behind it, we came here for a new start. And we don’t dredge up the past for each other on it. This is your new start. You don’t have to think about it in Milky Way terms anymore, that was 600 years ago who knows what’s changed? And we are essentially 600 years into the future in a new galaxy, we get to set new standards. Better standards.”

“We really have never asked each other, have we?” Alex asked thoughtfully, purposefully avoiding the point as he was known to do.

“We really haven’t, and even I can only get so much information. Sometimes you need people to find out the details. But that’s the thing, we don’t need details to be a good team and the best friends. Hell, we didn’t even ask Kaetus why he forged his credentials to join the Initiative. We let things lie until we’re ready. And the point is, this is a new start, we’re allowed to forget the past if we need to. And that includes all the xenophobic shit from the Milky Way.”

“You remind me a lot of my sister,” Alex smiled at her.

“I didn’t know you had a sister, did she come here too?”

“No. She died back in the Milky Way a few months before the Initiative started hunting for recruits. My brother is here though.” It felt strange to talk about his family after so long of avoiding it.

“I’m sorry about your sister.”

“Not your fault. I was supposed to be there for her and I wasn’t. We grew up on Earth, actually in the same slum that Shepard did. She made a big name for herself. I was just a kid when she joined up with the Alliance. It was big news where I was from, I mean that place was like quicksand. Nobody got out of there. But she did. She used to come back too, visit all of us. Hand out food and credits to people who needed it. No family, used to run in bad circles, she was like all of us. She’s why I signed up.”

“Did you know her?”

Alex chuckled, “People didn’t really know each other there. It was a rough place to grow up, it was safer to stay out of trouble and everything and everyone was trouble. I had my mom and my two siblings to take care of, I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me from being the man they needed. But I knew of Shepard, I mean I don’t think she used her first name even before joining the Navy. Just Shepard, she drew her line in the sand with everyone, nobody could get close to her from the way people talked. She was an orphan, stayed in one of the homes technically but that place was always empty, nobody actually stayed there they just used it as an address. And like I said, she was in with a bad crowd. Any crowd was a bad crowd. I was lucky, I had family, she had nobody and people with nobody end up looking for anybody.”

“You couldn’t go anywhere in the Milky Way without hearing about Shepard,” Valara said, “I mean they had documentaries on her. Little people from small towns would be on them, talking about how she helped find their great grandmother’s lost amulet, she’d do anything to help. And of course the documentary mentioned a bad place on Earth as her first home but I had no idea it was like that.”

“Alliance was afraid she’d lose her glamor if people found out some of the things she did. But like I said, people who went years having nobody will be hungry for anybody. Every time I saw Shepard’s name with some story like that, all I could think about was how she couldn’t say no, not when she was so hungry for a connection to another person. I met her one time before she joined the Navy. I was probably seven or eight and she was at least sixteen. I was on my way home and she stopped me, she had this scar on her eyebrow, hard eyes, I mean she scared the shit out of me. She crossed her arms over her chest, looked me up and down, there was some big guy lurking behind her, obviously waiting for orders. ‘You eatin’?;’ she asked. I shrugged. She jerked her head to the guy and he nodded, stepped forward from the shadows and dropped a backpack in front of me, ‘Take it home, I know your family needs it, Lu’s been keeping an eye on the kids around here for me. Says you’re a good one and you aren’t getting what you need.’ Oh boy I was shell shocked, Shepard didn’t talk to anyone, she didn’t meet anyone, I mean she was like this elusive being and we all spread rumors that she was probably some trained killer or something, definitely not someone who would drop a bag of food in front of a dumb kid when she was struggling herself.” Alex grinned and in his best tougher than nails Commander Shepard impersonation he said, “‘You listen to me though, this food isn’t free. You stay out of trouble. You don’t get involved with anyone like this lug behind me, you don’t get involved with drugs or the gangs around here, you stay good. And you help people, just like I’m helping you, if you can’t do something as big as this you do something small. We’re turning this town around and it starts with kids like you doing something better than guys like me, you understand? And the second you can, you get out of here and you do something big and you never get to be ashamed of where you grew up. You make this place better by being better, you understand? You promise you’ll be better and you can take this home.’” Alex laid down on the bed like he would have when he was hanging out with Kate in her room, clasped his hands behind his bed, “She actually made me promise not to tell anyone she did that. She fed my family for a while, on and off, not enough that we were living large but we got along. I bet she was helping other kids too. I thought it would be over when she left, but she kept coming back. Dropping by our street. I never talked to her again, I saw her from a distance a handful of times, but Lu showed up every once in a while, gave me a nod, and dropped a bag for us.”

“Shepard really was something else. She was like the ultimate bad ass but every time I hear something about her it’s all about helping other people. You know, I met Liara T’soni once, I was a consultant on Illium for some project and Liara showed up. It was just after she arrived there, I hear she got a little tougher afterwards but I thought she was sweet. It was after Shepard died and I was terrified to ask about it, but she talked to me about it anyways, told stories and stuff. She said the Shepard let the rachni queen go simply because it seemed like the right thing and that everyone deserved trust and a second chance. She was as angry as Wrex was about the genophage from what I hear. I mean, everything she did was from this idea of justice and rightness, she just wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty to do the right thing, which made her a badass.”

Alex didn’t say anything for a moment, he hadn’t talked about the past since he woke up and he felt a little overwhelmed by it all now. “I joined up right when I was able to, figured I’d chase after her. But before that, me and my sister used to sit up in her room, she’d make me sit on the bed, and we’d talk. She was the first person I told about being gay. I mean it’s not necessarily looked down on as much as it was but it still isn’t something that people usually just go spouting around. Still seen as a ‘private’ thing. I don’t care as much anymore, I’ve got a lot more pride about it, but at the time I was terrified. I only came out to my brother, Tyler, after he—” Alex paused, it wasn’t right to out his brother as transgender to someone Tyler didn’t know, no matter how close he and Valara were that was still up to his brother and only his brother. His brother didn’t hide it and was proud of it, but it was also something he should have control over. And it wasn’t like he would walk up to people and say hi, I’m trans, it was always on his terms with people he trusted and Alex knew he didn’t make that decision. Just like Kate didn’t tell Alex about Tyler and just like she didn’t tell Tyler he was gay, “—until after he made it clear one afternoon he didn’t care.”

“You had a lot going on, I can see why pride wasn’t at the forefront of your life at the time. But we’re in Andromeda now, we get a chance to be better.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m just not sure I’m ready to ask Kaetus for a real relationship. I had maybe one or two but nothing that feels as serious as this could be, like if we started I don’t think it would be casual, which only makes it more dangerous when things go wrong.”

“Start small, nothing says you have to dive into engagement plans. You can do something small and see how you feel and if you’re into it go for it and if you’re terrified but like, terrified in a bad way not in an exciting way, you can still back out.”

“What, you mean like a date?”

“Well, I actually meant like hand jobs, but a date would work too,” Valara smiled and laid down next to him. “You shared your story, or at least a part of it. I guess I can tell you mine.”

“You got a story too?” He turned his head to look at her and smiled.

“You don’t come to a new galaxy without one, even a boring one. I used to be a hacker but I liked the name consultant. For hire, I didn’t do it for myself, just sold a lot of information. Nothing like the Shadow Broker, I wasn’t a big fish, but I always had work. C-SEC used to ask for intel, mercs sometimes used to hire me to help break in and stuff, actually I even worked for the Shadow Broker twice. But you know, it catches up eventually. Someone manages to trace it back and they aren’t too happy. I joined Andromeda to literally run away. My business was ruined, they kept hiring people to kill me so I was constantly in danger, they had a ton of money so there was nowhere I could really hide. Except maybe another galaxy entirely. Had some friends in C-SEC vouch for me to get me in, said I did good work and not just with hacking but computers in general. But yeah, the Milky Way was dangerous and I wanted somewhere to start fresh. Though maybe it’s even more dangerous here, I mean I know that there was the whole Collectors issue but Shepard killed a fucking Reaper, she can handle Collectors.”

“Man, when I heard she died I was in tears. I flew back home right away, my sister had already passed by then but my brother was still there. And the whole neighborhood had set up a memorial for her and there was peace for weeks. Everyone had left something for her, a lot of thermal clips actually, and some drinks, the few things she had that she left on Earth when she joined up. And then all of a sudden there were blurry pictures and videos of her around, I mean Tyler and I had signed up for Andromeda and then the Collectors were coming, we felt like we were abandoning everyone. But then Shep was alive again and rumors were she was taking on the Collectors? It felt like a sign, ‘You go on, I’ll take care of this, you find Andromeda’. She made us feel a lot better about getting out, but you’re right. What could be worse than the Reaper that fucking took out the Citadel? I’m sure she handled it, got everyone back home safe and sound. Maybe she even saw that memorial on Earth. Shit, maybe it’s still up, I mean she was such a huge deal to people I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still there.”

“600 years. I wonder what happened.”

“I doubt much changed, I mean the people there hated the idea of anything being different from how it was,” Alex said bitterly.

“Sometimes it’s shocking to remember we’ll never see anyone from home again. I keep thinking, wait till I tell my friends about this, and then my heart just drops. Even as an asari, I mean if I flew back today maybe a couple of them would still be around, but as a human…I can hardly imagine.”

“I know what you mean. I left my mom back there, I mean she wasn’t great. Honestly Ty and I didn’t feel like we were leaving much behind. I had been accepted into the N7 training program and Ty was on Earth still. He’s here for research and development, but on earth he couldn’t find a job close to home so he flipped burgers and did research on his spare time with what little money he could afford to use. The Initiative didn’t even want him until he kept sending every paper he’d ever written and I guess at one point they were impressed, either by his drive or one of his papers. But I didn’t want to be N7, I mean it was the best there was in the Milky Way but it wasn’t enough, so I didn’t feel bad about leaving. Mom wasn’t always there when we were home, she didn’t work, God knows how we managed to stay in the house as long as we did. She didn’t make an effort with her kids. She just wasn’t around even when she was. But sometimes I’m reminded that she’s been dead for hundreds of years, you know?”

“People I knew are closing in on their matriarch years, they’ve spent the last 600 years becoming people I wouldn’t even recognize today and I was sleeping,” Valara laughs but it doesn’t sound genuine.

“My brother is asleep in cryo still, my mother long buried in another galaxy, my sister was gone before I even left, right now I’m pretty short on family. But you guys make Andromeda feel like a home, even if it is trying to kill us every five seconds. I may not be able to be with anyone I’m related by blood, but it might not be all about that.”

“Awwww, you love me,” Valara crooned.

Alex’s face felt hot and he sat up, “Oh shut up.”

Valara sat up too and hugged him, “I love you too, Alex.”

He dropped his head onto her shoulder and sighed, “This place isn’t what I’d thought it would be.”

“The Scourge, the kett, missing arks, the mutiny, everything keeps going wrong. But we’ll figure it out. There’s a Pathfinder out there right now, fuck they even made a viable outpost on Eos, and if you believe the rumors they went into some Remnant vault and found a way to stop the radiation. We may not have gotten what we expected, but it wasn’t a waste to come here. You’re going to make your childhood hero proud, you’re doing something big.”

“I keep thinking she’ll ride in to save the day like she always did.”

“Well, I guess that’s up to you or Ryder now. I suggest you get a move on or he’ll overtake you in the race to be Andromeda’s biggest hero.”

“It’s not even fair, I should have had a head start I’ve been at this for months and he shows up and settles Eos like it was no big deal. I mean who can compete with that?” Alex threw his hands up in mock frustration.

“Well maybe you can steal SAM somehow and do it yourself.”

“I think I’ll pass, have you heard Allison talk about Ryder? It’s horrifying and totally not worth free drinks at Vortex.”

“Fair enough. But there is something you probably should handle. You’ve got a turian boy out there who you haven’t talked to who is probably very confused about what to do next and if you like him.”

Alex sighed heavily and stood up, “Just when I was starting to like our heart to heart.”

“There’s a reason we don’t do them often, it usually means you’re running from something and it’s my job to get you back on track.”

“Fine, fine, I guess you’re right.”

Valara followed him out into the living room of the apartment and stopped in the kitchen for a glass of water while Alex crossed over the hole in the wall into their actual apartment.

Kaetus, who had been almost to the hole to go talk to Alex, stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the human. _Tiny_ , he thought looking at Alex. Alex would have been shocked tried desperately to offend himself, but to Kaetus they were all tiny and soft and squishy, no matter how tough and beefy their arms were.

“Alex—”

“Kaetus—”

Alex’s cheeks turned red, which Kaetus thought was very cute, very human. “I think we should go on a date,” the turian blurted out.

Alex blinked in shock, oh no, did he screw up? Was that wrong? Maybe it wasn’t wrong, maybe his translator just malfunctioned and Alex was hearing screeching or something he didn’t expect, maybe it had nothing to do with what he said. Oh, what if someone had broken into the apartment and was standing behind him and the look of shock was from that and not because he hated Kaetus and regretted kissing him last night. Totally unrelated.

“Did Valara talk to you?” he asked.

Valara? What the? What did the asari have to do with this? Did date mean something else? Kaetus thought he had done enough searching online to do this but apparently he was missing a lot of information to do this right.

“No? I haven’t even seen her today, why—”

“You may not have seen me, but I saw plenty of you, sweet cheeks,” Valara stepped through the hole and winked at Kaetus. “I’m going back to my room, boys, have fun.” Once Valara had passed Kaetus she turned around and shimmied her shoulders a little and it took all of Alex’s powers not to burst out laughing.

“I just asked because that’s what Valara suggested,” well, not technically but the meaning behind it was the same. Probably.

Kaetus tossed his head back and laughed, “You spoke to Valara about last night?” Alex’s cheeks only got redder and he looked away, obviously embarrassed. Kaetus’s gaze softened and he touched Alex’s arm gently, “I’m not making fun of you, I just thought it was funny because I actually talked to Makar about it this morning.”

“Oh yeah? What did he say?”

“Take him on a date,” technically he’d said, ‘Take him down to Vortex, wait for some idiot to come up to you guys, especially if he’s looking at Fletcher, and head butt him as hard as you can. Hopefully you don’t go up against a krogan. But it’ll make your intentions clear and nobody will fuck with you guys again,’ but the meaning behind it was the same. Probably.

“That doesn’t sound like Makar,” Alex smiled knowingly.

“I may have simplified it a little. You still haven’t answered though. I know it’s a little risky, but if you don’t know this by now I’m all about taking risks. We came all the way to Andromeda, if you’re not willing to take a risk I think you might be too late. So…what do you say?”

“Only if you can find a way to lock the others in this room so they’re not following us around and recording it for future research.”

“Well if that’s all it takes—”

“I wouldn’t make it sound so easy, Makar accidentally made the apartment twice the size it’s supposed to be.”

Kaetus laughed, “What if we just go somewhere far away and don’t tell them where? I’m not so sure I can find a cage big enough for Makar in such a short time.”

“I suppose I can compromise. You’ve got yourself a date.”

“Perfect. I’ll uh, I’ll get right to work on setting it all up.”

Alex went up on his toes and slid his hands along Kaetus’s chest, he was wearing the blue shirt today which did wonders for his eyes, and pressed his lips against Kaetus’s briefly before saying, “Let me know whenever you’re ready to whisk me away.”

“Is right now too soon?”

“Well, considering Valara is leaning out her doorway to see what’s going on,” Alex winked as he made eye contact with her over Kaetus’s shoulder, “I believe it might be. But, uh, I’m really glad you want to go out on a date with me and it wasn’t just, well you know. Seeing what it was like.”

“Alex, I don’t think I’d care if you were a hanar, I’m interested in you. I want to try something with you, the details don’t matter. But I really enjoyed the kiss too, so the benefit of not being a hanar is that if you wanted to do that again sometime I would totally let you.”

“Maybe when we have less of an audience, Makar looks like he just watched the boring part of a movie and I think he’s asking Valara if she can make a grilled cheese,” Alex finally stepped back into the friend bubble of personal space rather than the I-like-to-kiss-you-and-maybe-we-should-get-married bubble.

Makar lumbered out from his place in the doorway and down the hall to the two noticeably nervous and a little embarrassed men and said, “Actually I was asking if it would be inappropriate to turn on the TV while you guys talked, but if we’re talking about grilled cheeses—”

“You brought it up, Alex, you’re making it,” Valara said as she followed behind him.

“I did bring that on myself,” he gave Kaetus a lingering smile before turning his attention away.

“I would do it myself if you let me,” Makar grumbled.

“Well, if we didn’t have black scorch marks on the wall and had to replace the carpet from the sprinkler, maybe I’d let you make your own,” Alex teased, scratching Makar’s head as he passed.

“Yeah well maybe it was my plan all along to get you to make me food.”

“Fair enough, but I like making food, so all you had to do was ask,” Alex made his way to the kitchen and grabbed one of the pans from the drawer.

“Alright, so maybe it wasn’t my plan…Anyone want to play a game or something?”

“Can’t, I have to go back down to the doctor, see if he’ll clear me or if he can give me a timeline on it.”

“Bah, what’s even the point? You’re just gonna get beat up again anyways,” Makar grunted.

Valara shook her head, “Not like that, he’s going to be the perfect soldier out there from now on. I don’t even want to see him break one of those windows and scratch his hand. He’s gonna have a ton of restrictions.”

“Aw come on Valara, I think I can handle myself.”

“Just like how Makar doesn’t cook because of the fire, you’re not allowed to do a lot of shit because you almost went down with the shuttle,” Valara replied.

“What about you, Kaetus, do you want to play a game or something?” Makar asked.

“I uh, I can’t. I’ve got plans to make, calls, pulling a few strings.”

“If you need any blackmail material let me know,” Valara said way too casually.

“I think I’ll be fine this time, but if I need you I’ll let you know.”

“Suit yourself but I’m telling you that it’d be a lot easier and a lot cheaper if you knew the shit I knew. Unless you’re going through Vetra, I would say not only avoid blackmail but give her a tip, I don’t need her on my bad side.”

“Thanks Valara, but I think this is worth going through the right channels and working the system as little as possible,” Kaetus’s eyes flicked up to look at Alex who’s cheeks started turning pink again, and just when he thought it was over.

Alex was never exactly the type to blush or swoon, he wasn’t exactly the most macho man around, he wasn’t a huge fan of the excess hyper masculinity but he’d never felt like a schoolgirl watching the most popular boy on the playground. He didn’t exactly feel like it now, but it was the closest he was going to get to that feeling and he wasn’t very good at handling it yet, but luckily for him Kaetus found it adorable and pulled a few extra strings in the hopes he’d get to see more of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for having two notes, I just thought a good warning at the beginning was how it should start. I just wanted to say sorry for what will probably be a little slower updates, I just went through a breakup earlier this week (it's okay, I'm fine, it was just that we weren't in the right place for each other) and I'm still handling that and also coming up on my final test for my Wines class and stuff so I'm still working on this and thinking about this and hopefully updates won't be ages apart but after posting updates every couple days I just wanted to bring this up.  
> Also, a little behind the scenes info, originally Alex outed Tyler to Valara, which is why it probably seems like he's rambling or something because I don't edit any of my work for it to make more sense and that was more my stream of consciousness than anything. As much as I joke about Alex and I being similar I don't really identify with him super close which is why I'll probably put more of myself into Tyler than Alex, which is why Tyler is a queer trans man like me. But yeah, I originally had Alex out his brother, not in a mean way or anything, but it really made me think about what I would have gone through if I woke up and my brother had done something like that and I really want Alex to be a caring guy who understands that kind of thing so I rewrote it and that's my little tidbit for you or whatever.  
> I hope you guys liked it and tune in next time for first date stuff

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so like, this is probably such a niche read? Like who logs on here and thinks "I'm gonna look up fic on the APEX teams from ME:A"? But in my defense I'm doing this because I'm not super far into the game, I don't write a lot of fanfic I usually do original stuff, and I just don't feel comfortable writing with characters I'm not super familiar with yet. But I really like the game for the most part and I was playing some of the multiplayer and I thought this would be something fun to write instead of studying for my Wines class tomorrow.  
> Not sure how often the updates will be but I how the two people who read this stick around to find out. I've been really excited to write this and I hope you're excited enough to suffer through mediocre writing with me to find out what happens.  
> Hope to hear from you guys or something I guess? Thanks  
> Also suggestions for tags are welcome cause I'm lazy and I don't do this a lot


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